Alberto Sanna wins his first race since a serious hip injury which ruled him out of racing. Photos: Kenneth Chan

Alberto Sanna’s long recovery from a brutal hip injury is finally complete after the Italian jockey rode his first winner in 102 days at Sha Tin on Sunday.

While Sanna’s physical recovery was complete weeks ago – he was back riding within two months of the injury after being told by doctors it would take five – it has been a mental battle for a man who admits he is “a very competitive person”.

“If I play PlayStation with my son I can’t even lose, I have to win always,” he said. “So when a type of person like me doesn’t get winners, you get worse and worse and I started to change many things but it didn’t work out and it made me feel very bad.

“I have just tried to work and wait for the winner. The last two weekends I got seconds and I was very upset, but finally today I got a winner.”

The injury, which Sanna sustained when he fell off his bike on October 26, left him with an 18cm titanium rod in his hip, but he says he is feeling “very well”.

@Albe_Sanna has had a tough run - including an injury break after a bike spill - but salutes for the first time since October as Winner Supreme shows speed and guts to hold strong favourite Meridian Genius in R2 #HKracingpic.twitter.com/y3b3XGfwES